Why, Starclan?
by Cyrus The Absol
Summary: The four clans have managed to survive for a long time, though there have been periods of war and peace. But how much longer can they last when strange things start happening in the clans? (Rated T for violence!)
1. Chapter 1

**THUNDERCLAN**

**Leader- **Willowstar- White she-cat with blue eyes **Mate- **Blackear

**Deputy- **Owlflight- dark brown and white tabby tom with amber eyes

**Medicine Cat- **Ashpool- dark gray tom with darker flecks, forest green eyes **Apprentice-** Whisperpaw

**Warriors-** Duskbreeze- pure black tom with yellow eyes

Tinyshadow- small white she-cat with black paws, light green eyes

Dewfall- light gray and white tom with yellow eyes **Apprentice- **Frostpaw

Honeystripe- light orange she-cat with a darker stripe down her back, dark green eyes

Icegaze- white tom with blue eyes

Larksong- dark gray she-cat with amber eyes

Silvertail- silver gray tom with a darker tail, yellow eyes **Apprentice- **Lionpaw

Blackear- white tom with a single black ear, light blue eyes **Mate- **Willowstar

Ravenwing- black and white she-cat with light green (almost yellow) eyes **Apprentice- **Heatherpaw

**Apprentices-** Heatherpaw- long furred dark gray she-cat with a white chest and paws, forest green eyes **Brother- **Lionpaw

Lionpaw- dark orange tabby tom with yellow eyes **Sister- **Heatherpaw

Whisperpaw- white she-cat with gray stripes on her legs and tail, light green eyes

Frostpaw- white she-cat with light blue eyes, Willowstar's only daughter

**Queens-** Mistyleg- black she-cat with white legs and paws, amber eyes **Mate-** Silvertail

Fawnleap- light brown and white she-cat with yellow eyes **Mate-** Foxtail (_DEAD)_ **Kits-**

Foxkit- dark orange tom with a white chest, light green eyes

Rainkit- blue-gray she-cat with yellow eyes

Leafkit- light brown she-cat with yellow eyes

**Elders-** Bird- pure black she-cat with light green eyes. Found on Thunderclan territory dying, and refused a warrior name after she had recovered.

**SHADOWCLAN**

**Leader- **Darkstar- black tom

**Deputy- **Sootfur- white she-cat with black spots

**Medicine Cat- **Sweetfur- light orange tabby she-cat

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader- **Hawkstar- dark brown and white tom

**Deputy- **Thundercloud- dark gray she-cat

**Medicine Cat- **Crossheart- white tom with a scar on his chest, renamed cruelly by his mother

**RIVERCLAN**

**Leader- **Goldenstar- calico she-cat

**Deputy-** Tigerleap- brown and orange tawny tom

**Medicine Cat- **Lilynose- black and white she-cat with a pale pink nose

This story will take place at the lake, but a long time has passed and all of the cats from the books are now dead. Heatherpaw is going to be the main character and her life will change dramatically when she falls in love with a tom from another clan. It might take a few chapters for the main plot to start, so please bare with me! I'll try to update at least once a week! I don't own warrior cats or any of the clans, the belong to the Erin's!


	2. Exciting Day

Heatherpaw opened her eyes to find the sun shining brightly into the apprentices den. She yawned and got up. She prodded her sleeping brother hard with her paw, who jumped up quickly, his fur sticking up.

"Oh, it's just you..." he sighed and started licking his fur. She grinned with amusement in her eyes. Heading out towards the fresh-kill pile, she spotted her mentor's black and white fur.

"Ravenwing, what are we going to do today?" she asked as she chose a plump mouse from the top of the pile and began to devour it, hungrily.

Ravenwing watched with slight amusement. "We aren't training today. There's a gathering tonight!" she paused for a moment and smiled, "Tell your brother that he will be going to the gathering, along with you, of course!"

It took Heatherpaw a moment to realize what Ravenwing had said. She ran back to the apprentices den where Lionpaw was still grooming himself. She tackled him playfully. "Lionpaw! We get to go to the gathering tonight!" she exclaimed, her tail flicking back and forth.

His face lit up immediatly. "Are you serious?!" he asked and she nodded. "I wonder what the other clans will be like! I wonder if all the Riverclan cats really do smell like fish," he smirked. She wrinkled her nose and laughed.

"And if Shadowclan cats are really as bad as everyone says they are!" she exclaimed. "But, what do we do until it's time for the gathering? I'm really excited! Time will go by too slow!" she complained.

"Why don't you two replace my nest and check me for ticks?" a familar voice growled. Bird had apparently overheard their conversation. The young cats exchanged annoyed looks.

"Well, come on now!" she mewed impatiently. "My fur can't clean itself, you know!" Heatherpaw and Lionpaw sighed and gave each other a look meaning "I guess we really have to do this, then". They got up and headed to the elders den.

"I checked her for ticks last time, so you have to do it this time! I'll go get the moss for her new nest," she explained with a look of satisfaction in her eyes. Lionpaw growled at her and swiped at her playfully.

"Fine! But next time, we should make Frostpaw do this!" he mewed and headed to the medicine cats den. Heatherpaw, with a truimphant smile on her face, dragged Bird's old nest out of the elders den and headed into the forest.

It was leaf-fall and the tree's leaves were bright orange instead of their usual green colors. _I wonder how leaves change colors..._ she thought as she headed to the supply of moss.

By the time she reached the moss, she was shaking slightly from the cold air. She got some moss and slowly struggled to bring it back to camp. She tripped clumsily and got back up quickly, embaressed, even though no one was around to see.

Heatherpaw had reached the camp right around the time Lionpaw had finished checking Bird's fur. He quickly ran over to help her carry the moss to the elders den.

"You washed the bile off your paws, right?" she asked him.

"Of course! I'm not mouse-brained like you!" he exclaimed and cuffed her ear with his ear softly. She smirked and jumped on him, pinning him down. Heatherpaw and Lionpaw were closer than most siblings because their father died while their mother was still pregnant with them. She died giving birth to them and Larksong, Whisperpaw's mom, adopted them.

Their play-fighting was interupted when Willowstar yowled, "The cats that are going to the gathering need to meet at the camp entrance. We will be leaving shortly."

They exchanged excited looks before bounding off to the entrance. The rest of the cats that were assigned to go assembled shortly. The group was talking amongst themselves while they waited to leave.

"Everyone, follow me," Willowstar yelled over the loud talking of the cats. She swiftly headed out of the camp entrance and the cats slowly began to follow her.

"We are going to our first gathering," Heatherpaw smiled.


	3. A Peaceful Gathering

Heatherpaw and Lionpaw stayed side by side, chatting quietly the whole time on the way there. They didn't know where they were, for they had never been out of Thunderclan territory. "It's so cold! How do Windclan cats stand this?" Heatherpaw complained and went closer to Lionpaw for warmth.

Lionpaw was about to answer, but he was cut short when Willowstar yowled, "We are about to cross the log. Everyone, be _very_ careful. Make sure you dig your claws into the wood to keep balance." Lionpaw eyed Heatherpaw nervously.

"It'll be okay. Nobody has fallen off this log in ages!" she exclaimed. They waited for their turns, slightly nervous but also very excited. With one last look at Lionpaw, she carefully lifted herself up on to the log and dug her claws in to it quickly. She walked slowly and cautiously. About halfway through the log, she slipped and let out a yelp. Lionpaw, who was now on the log too, froze in fear. But, Heatherpaw regained her balance and sighed in relief.

Heatherpaw had finally reached the end of the log and Lionpaw joined her in a moment. "Only Windclan is here right now. It's a relief we weren't the last clan here!" he exclaimed. They both looked around, excited, and saw a few Windclan apprentices and Frostpaw chatting. Lionpaw flicked his tail for her to follow, and together they walked over to the apprentices.

"Hey, Heatherpaw, Lionpaw," Frostpaw mewed shyly in greeting. "This is your first gathering, right? That tom right there is Runningpaw," she mewed and pointed at a black and white cat. He nodded and smiled slightly. "And that she-cat right there is Brightpaw," she pointed at a bright orange tabby cat.

"Hi," Brightpaw mewed simply and began gossiping with Runningpaw about some other cats in other clans that Heatherpaw didn't know. Frostpaw rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Let's go find a place to sit," she suggested and they left the two Windclan apprentices. They sat by Whisperpaw and Ashpool.

"Hi, Whisperpaw! How's training going?" Lionpaw asked in a friendly manner.

"Great, just great," she mewed sarcastically and turned and looked up at the big oak tree. Whisperpaw was always grumpy. She never really wanted to be a medicine cat, but Ashpool had a vision that she was supposed to.

Lionpaw sighed softly and gave Brightpaw a grumpy look. Heatherpaw looked around and saw the sleek figures of cats swimming in the water. "Lionpaw, Riverclan is here!" she exclaimed and pointed at the water. He turned his head to the water and saw the cats just as they stepped up onto the shore and shook their pelts, causing some other cats to hiss and jump up, not wanting to get sprayed by water.

"Now we have to wait for Shadowclan," he mewed and looked at the log, trying to see if they were crossing, and he saw what he thought was the Shadowclan leader as he stepped off the log and onto the ground. Darkstar immediatly went up to sit in his spot on the giant oak tree and Goldenstar, the Riverclan leader, slowly made her way to her spot. The Windclan leader and Willowstar were already sitting there waiting and watching their cats with pride.

"It looks like everyone is here, so the gathering begins now," Darkstar growled and waited for the cats to stop talking. "I will start with my news. Shadowclan has two new warriors, Foxtail and Acornpelt. I sadly announce that one of our elders, Stone, has died. We will greatly miss him, but we will _not_ be too caught up in grief to fight and defend our territory," he narrowed his eyes.

"Thank you, Darkstar," Goldenstar mewed with a small growl that wasn't noticable. "Our hunting is still great, even though leaf-bare is approaching rapidly. Tigerleap is the new deputy," she mewed and grief was clear in her voice. "T-that is all."

Willowstar looked at Goldenstar with gentle eyes. She knew how it felt to loose a great deputy. But she faced the crowd again quickly, not wanting to hold up the gathering. "Thunderclan is having great hunting this season. Hopefully it will last until after leaf-bare..."

"We don't anything interesting happening right now," Lionpaw mewed and a warrior behind him told him to be quiet. Slightly embaressed, he focused back on the leaders, waiting for Windclan to share their news.

"We are also having good hunting, thank Starclan. Lilynose is the new medicine cat..." he trailed off, but quickly continued. "I know she will do all she can for Windclan. May Starclan guide your path," Hawkstar glanced at Lilynose and he could tell she was griefing for her mentor. "Meeting dismissed."

All the leaders jumped off the tree and headed towards where their clan was sitting. "Let's go, Thunderclan. It's too cold for us to stay and socialize," Willowstar mewed and started crossing the log. Heatherpaw and Lionpaw exchanged looks of disappointment; they wanted to talk to the other apprentices. Heatherpaw gave one last look at the island before getting on the log, following closely behind her brother.

**Constructive criticism is encouraged! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll make the chapters. Criticism will hopefully help me improve the story, or my writing skills. ^^**


	4. Border Trouble

Heatherpaw and Lionpaw were a few of the first cats to reach the camp. The first thing that Heatherpaw saw was three lively kits running torwards her and her brother. They almost ran into them because they were so excited.

"What happened at the gathering? Please tell us!" a tom that was called Foxkit after his father asked. He looked up at her with pleading eyes, along with his sisters.

"Well, nothing really _that_ interesting happened... Everyone reported good hunting and Hawkstar said that they had a new medicine cat, Lilynose. Oh, and Goldenstar said that Tigerleap was the new Riverclan deputy..." she trailed off, remembering the look of grief on the she-cats face.

"Nothing interesting ever happens at the gatherings!" Rainkit squeaked and then the group of kits ran off to the nursery. Their mother, who was standing at the entrance of the nursery, gave an appologetic look and then headed into the nursery.

"Well, I'm going to sleep. That was exhausting!" Heatherpaw exclaimed, amused by the kits. Lionpaw nodded in agreement and they walked to the apprentices den. They laid down in their nests that were side by side. Lionpaw let out a huge yawn and then curled up in his nest and quickly fell asleep. Heatherpaw, however, had trouble falling asleep, even though she was fairly tired. She eventually fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Heatherpaw was awakened by the harsh sunlight intruding into the apprentices den. She stood up quietly because her brother was still asleep and stretched. _Frostpaw is all ready awake,_ she thought and walked cautiously out of the den. Walking to the fresh-kill pile, she found Frostpaw there, eating a large bird.

"Do you want some?" Frostpaw asked, "I don't think I can eat all of this by myself."

"Yeah, sure! Thanks!" she mewed greatfully and laid down by the white she-cat and took a bite off the bird.

"Did you like going to the gathering last night?" Frostpaw asked and took a small bite.

"Yeah, but I wish I could have talked more to the other apprentices. I only got to say hi to those two Windclan apprentices you showed me before they started gossiping," she rolled her eyes and smiled.

Frostpaw let out a laugh. "Gossiping is the only thing they know how to do! I doubt they even know how to hunt or fight!" she exclaimed.

They talked for awhile while they ate. "Oh, right! I need to go on a border patrol with Dewfall! It was nice talking to you!" Frostpaw exclaimed and jumped up to go join the small group that was already at the camp entrance. Heatherpaw felt amused that Frostpaw could be so forgetful. She took the last bite of the bird and got up, not knowing what to do now.

_I could go hunting! The fresh-kill pile looks pretty empty!_ she thought as she eyed the low pile. _Yeah, I'll do that._ The patrol that Frostpaw was going on had already left and she decided to go the way that the patrol wasn't headed. She walked quietly through the forest and she was scenting the air all the time.

Finally, she picked up the scent of a mouse. She lowered her body into a hunters crouch as she spotted a mouse eating a nut. _Dumb mouse!_ she thought just before she pounced and killed it with a sloppy bite. She looked around and realized she had crossed onto Shadowclan territory. She panicked when she heared the low whispers of Shadowclan cats that appeared to be on a patrol. She tried to run away, but she froze when a familar growl called, "You prey theif!" It was Darkstar. Her heart sank.

She turned around swiftly and her fur raised. "I didn't mean to! I didn't know I crossed the border! Please, let me go! You can have the mouse!" she pleaded. She hated to sound weak, but she knew she couldn't fight off the leader and the three other warriors that were with him. Darkstar stepped forward and she flinched.

"Liar!" he growled and slashed her chest with his long claws, leaving a deep wound. She cried out loudly in pain and she began to shake. It felt like she was on fire. She had never really been hurt, besides the occasional thorns that got stuck in her paws.

"I'll see what Willowstar thinks about a tiny apprentice lying to a leader! Acornpelt, Littlewhisker, and Snowstorm, you finish the patrol. I'll be back soon," he growled with a small smirk on his face. "And for you, follow me, or you will experience much worse pain than that."

Heatherpaw's eyes widened and she followed him quickly, scared for her life. When Darkstar looked over his shoulder to see that she was still following, Heatherpaw flinched and sped up, which made Darkstar chuckle.

"We're here," he growled and they headed through the camp entrance. Nobody was in the clearing, and barely any cats were in camp right now. Darkstar headed to the leaders den with Heatherpaw following him quickly.

"Willowstar! Look who I found on Shadowclan territory, hunting!" he growled and walked into her den calmly. Willowstar narrowed her eyes and she looked at Heatherpaw. She gasped as she saw that Heatherpaw was bleeding heavily from a deep wound.

"Did Darkstar do that to you?" she asked gently and Heatherpaw nodded. "Okay, go to Ashpool's den and get that checked up," she tried to cover up the rage in her voice, but Heatherpaw could tell that she was very mad.

Heatherpaw walked as fast as she could to the medicine cats den, wanting to feel relief from the constant, horrible pain she was feeling. Ashpool was sorting through the herbs when she walked in.

"Yes?" he asked and he turned to face the young apprentice. "Oh, Starclan! Lay down in that nest. Let me get you some herbs for that," he mewed, trying to keep his voice calm, but failing, just like Willowstar had. He walked to the back of the den and began searching through his herbs.

"Cobwebs, we need cobwebs!" he yowled. Whisperpaw just happened to be walking past his den and she stuck her head in.

"I'll go get some," she mewed. The usually stubborn and mean she-cat had worry clear in her voice. Ashpool nodded greatfully and she rushed out to find cobwebs.

_Why are they so frantic! I couldn't die from this, right?_ Heatherpaw asked herself as fear took over her body. _I'm too young to join Starclan! Please Starclan, let me live!_


	5. Traitor!

Ashpool went to go look for some needed herbs while he waited for Whisperpaw. He returned back to the panicking Heatherpaw with two herbs in his jaw: Goldenrod and Marigold. He set the Marigold gently on the ground and squeezed the juice of the Goldenrod into Heatherpaw's wound, who gasped from the pain. Then, Ashpool squeezed the Marigold juices into her wound. He hurried back to his herbs and returned with two poppy seeds.

"Eat these. It will numb the pain and you will probably become very tired. Try to get some sleep, and when Whisperpaw comes back, I will put the cobwebs on your wound. You'll be okay," he mewed soothingly and pushed the poppy seeds towards her. She lapped them up quickly and sighed. She quickly became tired and fell asleep.

In the forest, Whisperpaw had grabbed a stick and was looking for a cobweb frantically. She soon found the biggest cobweb she had ever seen and she quickly wrapped as much as she could around the stick and ran back to camp.

When she got back to camp, cats were glancing at the medicine cat's den and Whisperpaw could smell the fear radiating from the scared cats. _She'll be okay,_ she thought and headed into the medicine cat's den. She gave the stick to Ashpool and he nodded. He quickly applied the cobwebs to Heatherpaw's wound.

"She'll be okay, right?" Whisperpaw asked as she stared at her fellow apprentice.

"She should be. But it's up to Starclan, now. She has all ready lost a lot of blood," Ashpool mewed. "Doesn't she have a brother? Can you ask him to go get some water?" he mewed gently and she nodded. She found Lionpaw fairly easily, for he was sitting at the fresh-kill pile, his eyes glazed with worry.

"Lionpaw. Can you go get some moss and soak it with water?" she mewed gently. Lionpaw just looked at her. "She'll be okay, I promise. You would help us greatly if you got her some water," he nodded and ran out into the forest. _He'll be back soon, I know it._ she thought and headed back to the medicine cat's den to see if she could do anything else.

In Willowstar's den, Darkstar was glaring at Willowstar threatingly while she was snarling. "You have no right to attack my cats! Or come onto my territory!" she growled, her eyes narrowing and her claws unsheathed with fury. "I know Heatherpaw didn't mean to, you are more of a liar than her! Now get out!" she yowled loudly. "If I _ever_ find out that you have been on _my_ territory, I _will not_ hesitate to attack and kill you myself! We all know you're on your last life!" Darkstar's eyes widened slightly.

"I will not be killed by my own sister," he growled quietly. Willowstar froze and a look of truimph appeared on his face.

"H-how did you find out?" she stuttered, horrified.

"I knew stone was keeping something from me; from the clan. I threatened to kill him if he didn't tell me... He told me that he was the father of me and you. The mother was that white she-cat that died not that long ago in Thunderclan. What was her name?" he paused with a smirk. "Oh, well. That doesn't matter now. According to Stone, I was stolen away from Thunderclan when I was a kit," he frowned and he didn't know if he should go on or not.

"I killed Stone. He was a useless elder. He was going to die soon anyways, I just decided to put him out of his misery. He didn't deserve to live, anyways. He was a _traitor_," he hissed with a smile on his face.

Willowstar paused for a moment, trying to take everything in. Then, before he could react, she pounced on him and pinned him down, digging her claws into his shoulders. "Traitor!" she yowled as loud as she could. Ravenwing and Owlflight came running in.

"H-he killed Stone..." she whispered and her grip loosened on his shoulders. He pushed Willowstar over and tried to make a run for it, but Owlflight was too fast. He unsheathed his claws and struck one of Darkstar's legs hard, making him fall over. Owlflight quickly pinned him down with a strong grip.

Willowstar ran out of the den to find the cats with their fur raised. "Darkstar is a traitor! Silvertail, Tinyshadow, go get Sootfur immediatly and tell her to come here. If she denies, tell her that they have been led by a traitor for many moons!" she yowled and the two warriors nodded and raced off to go find the Shadowclan deputy. Blackear didn't know exactly what had happened, but he immediatly jumped onto the Highledge and spoke soft words to her. She seemed to calm down a bit.

Silvertail and Tinyshadow had soon reappeared at the camp entrance with Sootfur following behind them quickly with a calm look on her face. When Willowstar saw her, she beckoned her with her tail. The Shadowclan deputy jumped onto Highledge and followed her into her den. Sootfur glanced at Darkstar with cold eyes and turned to Willowstar. Willowstar quickly explained everything that had happened and Sootfur barely looked surprise.

"Darkstar was never a good leader... He apprenticed some kits too early. He was never really nice to us..." Sootfur's voice faltered, but she quickly recovered. "He should be exiled, never to return," she growled fiercly. Willowstar nodded.

"Darkstar, you are no longer allowed on clan terittory. We will alert the other clans. If anyone ever sees you, they will not hesitate to rip your throat out," Willowstar mewed with a blank look in her eyes, "Now get out! And never return!" she snarled. Owlflight released him, but didn't take his eyes off of him.

"Very well," he mewed calmly. He stood there for a moment before Owlflight hissed and he turned and walked away. The cats watched as he disappeared out of the camp.

"Sootfur, congratulations. Thank you for coming," Willowstar mewed with no sign of hositlity. Sootfur nodded.

"Thank you, too. I'll be leaving now," she mewed and dipped her head politley. Then she turned and walked out of Willowstar's den, and the camp. Outside of the camp, she broke out into a run.

Willowstar stepped out of her den and the warriors that were in it left, too. She stepped onto Highledge and paused for a moment, pondering what to tell her clan. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!" she yowled. Most of the cats were already in the clearing, so they just moved so they could see her better. Ashpool and Whisperpaw sat at the entrance of the medicine cats den.

"As some of you may know, Heatherpaw was attacked by Darkstar, who then escorted her to me. He then revealed to me that he killed Stone..." she paused, grief shone in her eyes, "Sootfur came and said he should be exiled. If any of you see him on clan terittory, attack him and kill him. Just like he did to Stone..." she glanced at Lionpaw and saw he looked terrified. "Heatherpaw will be okay, it just might take her awhile to get back on her apprentice duties," she added quickly. "Meeting dismissed."

Many cats started talking nervously and Lionpaw headed to the medicine cats den. Ashpool nodded to him and he sat down beside her. The moss he had brought was still laying there, untouched. He stared at the covered wound on her chest with hatred. _If I ever see Darkstar, I will kill him slowly and painfully..._ he thought and laid down beside his sister. He licked her shoulder gently. He laid there for a long time, and soon he began to feel drowsy. He fell asleep curled up beside Heatherpaw.


End file.
